The famous Google maps service has been updated with new features that you will surely love, all of them designed for Android and iOS devices, to make navigation easier and create a more optimal user experience in any occasion, even when you are driving.
For this reason, we are going to tell you about all the news that it has recently announced and these two functions that you will love and want to see come to your mobile now. Do you want to discover what they are?
Real-time prompts on the lock screen
Google has announced that the app is going to support Live Activities sooner than you think. This new function will provide you with a better user experience on your Android, but also on the iPhone by giving turn-by-turn directions on the lock screen and in Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.
This integration will allow you to receive real-time alerts and directions for driving, biking, walking, public transportation, and other forms of navigation using Google Maps. You won’t have to open the app or unlock your mobile to do this, so it becomes even more practical.
Live Activities are live notifications on the lock screen where you can see events in real time, a feature that integrates with Dynamic Island to give information at a glance at the top of the screen. To open an enlarged view with additional information you must press and hold Dynamic Island. Google Maps is already compatible and it will undoubtedly be one of the novelties that you will like the most if you have an iPhone.
You will have to wait a bit, but it will be worth it. At-a-glance directions will roll out to Android and iOS in the coming months, with support for Live Activies starting with iOS 16.1.
More immersive and immersive experience
The new update gives you a more immersive experience on Android and iOS devices thanks to Immersive View . This new feature allows you to look inside a place as if you were there. To do this, it uses artificial intelligence to merge billions of photos taken from Street View and aerial images. Take all the photos and create a digital replica of the place you explore. The result of this you can see now on Google Maps.
All this creates a more immersive experience in which you can virtually visit a site , see its exterior and surroundings in detail. With the time slider, you can see how it changes depending on the time of day and how the weather can affect it. It also helps you learn more with traffic data and get a closer look at a popular restaurant.
To recreate the interiors of the premises, it uses an advanced AI technique, Neural Radiation Fields (NeRF), which transforms images into 3D representations. Thus, he manages to show interiors with the appropriate textures and lighting.
For now, it’s available in London, New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and San Francisco starting today, so you can learn more about these places if you visit or travel to them. In the coming months, it will reach more cities, initially Amsterdam, Dublin, Florence and Venice. We hope that it will reach more places very soon.
Other news to highlight from Google Maps
You will also be able to navigate using augmented reality , so you can use your phone in more places to see information about the busiest train stations, shopping centers and airports, among many other places.
The indoor Live View news will be implemented in cities in the coming months, so you can visit or circulate around Madrid, Barcelona, London, Prague, Paris, Berlin, Frankfurt, Melbourne, São Paulo, Singapore, Sydney and Taipei with these news.
If you have an electric vehicle , driving it will now be easier with Google maps, since they come with new features such as fast charging stations, charging stations in search results and the ability to add charging stops to shorter trips.
